Sheet or strip feeding mechanism



Feb. 6, 1934. E. w. MIKAELSON SHEET 0R STRIP FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5, 1932 ZSheets-Sheet l & Ill I I I I llllnlllllnl'lll! l I l I .llvll Ill v. \v

Feb- 6, 1934. E. w. MIKAELSON' SHEET 0R STRIP FEEDING HECHANISI Fild Aug. '5, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'Paaniedreb. s, 1934 i 1,946,170

UNITED ST T S: PATENT oFFicr.

' 1,946,170 SHEET on STRIP FEEDING MECHANISM Erik w. Mikaelson, Easton, Pa.,- assign: a"

Treadwell Engineering Company, Easton, Pa., 3 corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 5, 1932. Serial No. 627,631 7 11 Claims. (01.271-23;

The present invention relates to feeding mechof processes and apparatus, and in doing so the anismsfor strips and the like. I design and arrangement of its component ele- The purpose of the invention is to providea ments may be widely varied without departure feeding mechanism for metallic strips or. other from the spirit and scope of the invention. 5 types of elongated blanks which may, at the By way of example, one form of the invention 50 will of'the operator, be brought into positive is disclosed in the accompanying drawingsQhi blank feeding or holding relationship or which which:

may be adjusted so as to release the blank and Figure 1 is a diagramshowing the relative po thereafter become a passive guide for the blank sitions of .the several parts of an apparatus for 1 while the same is drawn or'advanced by other the,continuous pickling of metallic strips, the

means. I position of my improved blank feeding mecha- The feedingmechanism is of the roller type nism being indicated; embodying two opposed rollers between which Figure 2 is a front elevation of the mechathe blank passes, together'with means for drivnism; v

ing one or both of the rollers, preferably both. Figures 3, 4 and 5 are transverse sections along 70 Means for quickly and easily efiecting the relathe lines 33, 4-4, and 5.'5 respectively, of tive adjustment ofthe rollers is provided, so Figure 2; and that the operator is enabled to instantly re- Figures 6 and '1 are'sections taken on lines lease a blank or asquickly'engage the same. 6-6 and '7-7 respectively of Figure 4.

The mechanism includes means for automatically The top and bottom blank engaging rollers are 75 disconnecting at least one of the rollers from its indicated at 10 and 11 respectively, these rollers supporting shaft or arbor simultaneously with being supported for relative movement in a verthe change-over of the mechanism from a. blank tical plane and being adapted, bymeans of mechgripping and feeding device to a guide, so that anism to be hereinafter more fully described, to

such roller will thereafterv rotate at a speed be locked in blank engaging position, in which. so determined by the lineal speed of the blank passposition they verytightly engage the upper and ing through the mechanism; i..e'., its peripheral lower faces of a blank passing between them; or speed will be the same as the lineal speed of to be separated so that a blank may pass freely the blank. This insures that that roller which therebetween, in which position one of thefeed constitutes the actual guide means during the rollers, in this case the upper feed roller 10, will 5 time that a blank is being drawn through the serve as a freely rotating guide means for the mechanism will exert no drag upon the blank, blank as it is drawn longitudinally by some other tending to injure the surface. device and the lower roller 11 will be entirely out The'rnechanism is of generalutility but is parof contact with the blank. I a

ticularly useful in connection with pickling proc- In the present instance the upper roller 10 is esses and apparatus of the continuous type, where mounted upona shaft -12 which is rotatably supa blank is fed through a pickling bath and then ported in bearings mounted in brackets 13 and 14, to a coiling machine by means of which it is which brackets may in turn be secured by bolts, wound into a coil. 'It is necessary tointermitscrews, or theelike to any suitable base or sup- 40 tently halt the progress of the blank from time porting mechanism. It will be observed that the to time to perform welding" or shearing operashaft12 extends beyondbracket 14. and that the tions thereon and an apparatus constructed in end of this shaft is connected to motor 15 through accordance with the present invention is:- well. an overrunning'clutch or ratchet mechanism 16, adapted to firmly secure the blank while such couplings. 1'7 and 18 beingprov'ided intermediate 45 operations are being carried out; a the shaft 12 and the ratchet mechanism and in- An apparatus constructed in accordance with termediate the ratchet mechanism and the motor, 7 the present invention isparticularly useful in respectively. The roller 10 is mounted for free {initially feeding the blank to the coiling ma-, rotation on shaft 12, bearings 19 and 20 being chine, holdingtheblank tightly while welding interposed between the roller and shaft, and is 50 or shearing operations are performed on it inprovided at one end with a clutch face 21 preftermediate the feeding mechanism and the coil, erably of the positive toothed type; vClutch face ing machine, and guiding the blank after the '21 is adapted to cooperate with a similar clutch coiling machine has become active in drawing face formed on theannular movable clutch eleit through the pickling bath. Naturally the inment 22 which is splined to shaft 12 so as to 55 vention may be adapted to many other types rotate therewith and yet be longitudinally movand the yokes supporting shaft 29.

a clutch operating lever 42.

moved into clutching engagement with roller 10, the roller is then positively connected to the shaft and may be driven by the motor 15. When the clutch is disengaged, however, roller 10 is at such time comprises a freely revoluble guide,

roller. I

Positioned in rear of and parallel to shaft 12,

and mounted in bearings formed in brackets 13 and 14, respectively, is a shaft 23, this shaft having mounted for free rotation upon one end thereof, beyond bracket 14, an idler gear or pinion 24,

the teeth of which are in constant mesh with those of a pinion 25 keyed on shaft 12. Idler pinion 24 is likewise in constant mesh with an idler or pinion 26 mounted upon one end of a shaft, 27 parallel to and positioned immediately below shaft 23 and supported in hearings on brackets 13 and 14. Pinion 26 in turn meshes with pinion 28 keyed on one end of shaft 29, upon which shaft the lower roller 11 is non-rotatably fixed. It follows, therefore, that the rotary motion of shaft 12 is transmitted to shaft 29 through the four pinions 25, 24, 26, and 28, respectively, so that shafts 12 and 29 rotate in unison whenever the motor is in operation. These pinions are of the same diameter furthermore, so that rollers 10 and 11 must move at the same angular velocity.

, It will be observed, however, that shaft 29 is not supported in bearings in the brackets 13 and 14 but is rotatably supported in bearings carried by yokes 30 and 31, each of these yokes having its rear end keyed to shaft 27 and supported.

thereby, and yoke 31 having a forwardly projecting portion 31" provided with a recess 31 in its lower surface into which the upper end of a ver tical plunger rod 32 extends. Rod 32 has its lower end connected to a vertically movable piston 33 positioned in acylinder 34, fiuid pressure means'being provided for effecting raising or lowering of piston 33 as desired by the operator and hence raising or lowering of the plunger rod 32 By the means just described, the lower roller 11 may be forced upwardly to tightly clamp between it and the upper roller 10 a'blank positioned between these rollers or may be allowed to drop, for instance,

to the dotted line position shown in Figure 5, in'

which position there is quite a considerable space between the rollers 10 and 11 so that the blank may freely pass therebetween.

The yokes 30 and 31 are preferably connected by across member (not illustrated) to insure simultaneous movement thereof, thereby avoidvertical path as the yoke is raised or lowered,

and cam roller 41 mounted upon the lower end of Lever 42' is supported on a short horizontal shaft 43 carried by a bearing member 44 integral with bracket 14. Lever 42 has an upwardly extendingarm 42', provided with a laterally projecting portion which able thereon. Thus, when the element 22 is lies within an annular slot 22 formed in the sliding clutch element 22, and is likewise'provided with an arm42 the end of which is connected by means of a contractile spring 45 with a stationary pin 46 mounted on a portion of bracket 14, the function of spring 45 being to normally maintain the clutch lever 42 in the position in which it is shown in Figure 2, with clutch teeth engaged. It is possible that, at the moment roller 11 is raised, the teeth on one clutch member may not be positioned in exact register with the depressions in the other clutch member. If this occurs, spring 45 will draw the clutch members together and hold them in contact until they are in the proper relative angular positions for full engagement. When this occurs, the teeth on one clutch member drop into the depressions in the other, and cam roller 41 drops into the low portion of cam 40.

At the opposite end of short shaft or arbor 43 is an arm 47 corresponding to arm 42 and likewise provided With means projecting within slot 22 of the clutch element. Arms 47and 42' move simultaneously so that equal pressures are ap plied to the clutch element at diametrically opposite points in order that no binding of the clutch element on the shaft may occur. It will be clear that downward movement of yoke 31 will cause engagement of roller 41 by cam face 40 and hence rocking'of clutch lever 42 and disengagement of the clutch 22 from roller 10. Roller lO is then free to rotate on its shaft. The clutch is nat-- urally re-engaged when yoke 31 is moved up-- wardly, moving cam face 40 0ut of contact wi h roller 41, whereupon the spring 45 serves to re A rolls of the feeding mechanism just described are indicated at 10 and 11 respectively. .In Figure l the rolls 10 and 11 are shown to be separated, and in this event roller 10 is disconnected from the motor 15 and is freely revoluble on its supporting shaft so that it constitutes merely a guide roll similar in its functions to the other guide rolls 53. The rolls 10 and 11 are thus separated after the leading end of the blank has been connected to the coiling mechanism 55, and the coilingv mechanism is engaged in drawing the blank through the pickling bath. Prior tothe connection of the leading end of the blank to the coiling mechanism, however, the feed rolls 10 and 11 are in grippingvrelation to the blank and serve to draw the blank forwardly until its leading end is. in position to. be engaged by the (roller. The rolls l0 and 11 are likewise maintained in tight gripping engagement with the blank in theevent that shearing operations are. to be performed on the blank by means of the shear diagrammaticall indicated at 54.

The ratchet mechanism 16 is in the'nature of an overrunning clutch, permitting shafts 12 and 29qto rotate in blank feeding direction, at higher angular velocities than the motor shaft, in the event that rollers 10 and 11 are in gripping engagement with the blank and the blank is being drawn along by the coiling apparatus at 'a greater velocity than the feeding device can feed it. The ratchet mechanism 16 acts, therefore, as a safety device which prevents scratching or tearing of the blank under such conditions, but it is not primarily intended to be actively used, rollers 10 and 11 being separated, if possible, whenever the coiling mechanism 55 is active. The ratchet mechanism has a furthenpurpose; i. e., it comes into action whenever it is necessary to stop the material and shear it between the feeding mechanism and the coiling device. At such times the material must not be allowed to draw back out of the feeding mechanism toward the pickling tank. To perform this operation, the rollers 10 and 11 are forced together and the motor is stopped. The ratchet mechanism then prevents the rollers from tuming in reverse direction, thereby preventing the material from drawing back.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A mechanism of the class described, comprising in combination, two parallel rollers, means for driving one of said rollers, means for adjusting said rollers bodily toward or away from each other, and means for disconnecting said driven roller from said drive means when said rollers are separated.

2. In a feeding mechanism, in combination, a feed roller, a shaft upon which said feed roller is mounted for free rotation, means for clutching said roller to said shaft, and clutch operating mechanism automatically responsive to the movements of a second feed roller toward or away from said first feed roller.

3. In a feeding mechanism, in combination, a feed roller, means supporting said feed roller for free rotation, a second feed roller movable toward or away from said first feed roller, a source of power, and means for automatically connecting the power source and first feed roller when said second feed roller is moved in one direction and for automatically disconnecting said power source and first feed roller when said second feed roller is moved in the opposite direction.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the first roller is mounted on a shaft for free rotation, the power source is operatively connected to said shaft, and a clutch member slidably mounted on the shaft connects the roller thereto or disconnects it therefrom.

5. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which fluid operated means is provided for effecting movement of said second roller.

6. A mechanism of the class described comprising, in combination, two relatively adjustable rollers, each such roller mounted on a rotatable supporting spindle, one roller being fixed upon its spindle and the second being freely mounted on the associated spindle, drive means,

gearing connecting said spindles to the drive means at all times, and a clutch interposed between the freely mounted roller and its spindle whereby it may be operatively connected thereto or disconnected therefrom.

7. A mechanism of the class described comprising, in combination, two relatively adjustable rollers, each such roller mounted on a rotatable supporting spindle, one roller being fixed upon its spindle and the second being freely mounted on the associated spindle, drive means, gearing connecting said spindles to the drive means at all times, a clutch interposed between the freely mounted roller and its spindle, and mechanism for engaging and disengaging said clutch in accordance with the relative movements of said rollers.

8. A mechanism of the class described comprising, in combination, two relatively adjustable rollers, each such roller mounted on a rotatable supporting spindle, one roller being fixed upon its spindle and the second being freely mounted on the associated spindle, drive means, gearing connecting said spindles to the drive means at all times, a clutch interposed between the freely mounted roller and its spindle, a member for operating said clutch, and means associated with the other roller for operating said member and thereby manipulating the clutch.

9. A mechanism of the class described comprising, in combination, relatively adjustable rollers, means for driving one of the rollers, and means for connecting said roller to and disconnecting it from said drive means as said rollers are adjusted relatively to each other, said means including a cam movable with one roller and a cam operated clutch associated with the other.

10. A mechanism of the class described comprising, in combination, relatively adjustable rollers, means for driving one of the rollers, and means for connecting said roller to and disconnecting it from said drive means as said rollers are adjusted relatively to each other, said means including a clutch intermediate said roller and the drive means, a lever for operating said clutch, and a cam movable with the other roller for actuating said lever upon movement of said other roller.

11. A mechanism of the class described comprising, in combination, relatively adjustable rollers, means for driving one of the rollers, and means for connecting said roller to and disconnecting it from said drive means as said rollers are adjusted relatively to each other, said means including a clutch intermediate said roller and the drive means, a spring normally holding said clutch engaged, a lever for operating said clutch, and a cam movable with the other roller for actuating said'lever upon movement of said other roller.

ERIK W. MIKAELSON. 

